Justice for Liz

Liz is a pseudo name for a 16 year old girl who was beaten and gang-raped on her way home from her grandfather’s funeral and dumped in a pit latrine in Busia, Kenya in June 2013. She had injured her spine and was wheelchair bound and had developed the worst case of fistula. Her story was broken by Njeri Rugene of the Daily Nation in October – at which point it came to the attention of COVAW, FEMNET and other partners. Nebila of FEMNET started an online petition #JusticeForLiz on Avaaz.org which received over 1.8 million signatures from across the globe demanding an immediate arrest of the perpetrators and disciplinary action on the police who mishandled Liz’s case.

Two of the perpetrators are now in custody. Liz is recovering from her physical and psychological injuries, after having undergone surgery to repair the slipped disk as well as the fistula. Liz is currently in witness protection as she and her family have been receiving threats from the community. The case has also gone to court.

Join us in demanding #JusticeForLiz and in demanding public accountability, an end to violence and an end to impunity. We must never forget that Liz is one story – she is unfortunately not the first nor the last victim or survivor of violence, but we must use her story and this case as a rallying point – to express solidarity, to express our outrage and to demand action. We must act. For Liz, for Mbabazi and for so many others in similar situations.

See pictures from a march held on October 31st that brought together hundreds, including FEMNET members from across Africa